Next of kin notified in Nevada fighter jet crash

Originally published March 3, 2014 at 5:07 pm

Updated March 3, 2014 at 7:16 pm

Next of kin have been notified of the death of a U.S. military pilot killed in a fighter jet crash during a Nevada training exercise, but the victim's name is being withheld pending a formal announcement by the pilot's parent command.

Next of kin have been notified of the death of a U.S. military pilot killed in a fighter jet crash during a Nevada training exercise, but the victim’s name is being withheld pending a formal announcement by the pilot’s parent command.

Naval Air Force spokeswoman Lt. Reagan Lauritzen confirmed Monday that officials reached the family of the pilot who crashed Saturday on a training range east of Naval Air Station Fallon.

The Navy confirmed the death late Sunday. It’s unclear when the family received notification, which Lauritzen said triggers at least a 24-hour hold on public identification. She declined to identify the parent command.

Lauritzen says the F/A-18C was a Marine jet on loan to the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center, not one of the Navy’s Hornets as initially reported.